JOHANNESBURG, South Africa
Russian, French and American
leaders are crisscrossing Africa to win support for their positions on the war
in Ukraine, waging what some say is the most intense competition for influence
on the continent since the Cold War.
Russian Foreign Minister
Sergey Lavrov and French President Emanuel Macron are each visiting several
African countries this week. Samantha Power, head of the U.S. Agency for
International Development, went to Kenya and Somalia last week. The U.S.
ambassador to the U.N., Linda Thomas-Greenfield, will go to Ghana and Uganda
next week.
“It's like a new Cold War is
playing out in Africa, where the rival sides are trying to gain influence,”
said William Gumede, director of Democracy Works, a foundation promoting good
governance.
Lavrov, in his travels across
the drought- and hunger-stricken continent, has sought to portray the West as
the villain, blaming it for rising food prices, while the Western leaders have
accused the Kremlin of cynically using food as a weapon and waging an
imperial-style war of conquest - words calculated to appeal to listeners in
post-colonial Africa.
Under President Vladimir
Putin, Russia has been working to win support in Africa for several years,
reinvigorating friendships that date back a half-century, when the Soviet Union
backed many African movements fighting to end colonial rule.
"Now that campaign has
gone into high gear,” Gumede said.
Moscow's influence in Africa
was on display in March during the U.N. vote to condemn Russia's invasion of
Ukraine. While 28 African nations voted in favor of the resolution, a
significant minority of countries on the continent - 25 - either voted to
abstain or did not vote at all.
ALSO READ: French president slams African ‘hypocrisy’ over Ukraine war
Russia's top diplomat this
week visited Egypt, Congo, Uganda and Ethiopia, pledging friendship and
charging the U.S. and European countries with driving up food prices by
pursuing “reckless” environmental policies. He also accused them of hoarding
food during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The situation in Ukraine did
additionally negatively affect food markets, but not due to the Russian special
operation, rather due to the absolutely inadequate reaction of the West, which
announced sanctions,” Lavrov said in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital.
Lavrov was warmly received in
Uganda by President Yoweri Museveni, who for years has been a U.S. ally but has
refused to criticize Russia over the invasion. Museveni even suggested at the
outbreak of the war that Putin’s actions might be understandable because
Ukraine is in Russia's sphere of influence.
Lavrov voiced support for
reform of the U.N. Security Council to give African countries permanent seats
and greater influence.
Appearing with Lavrov, the
Ugandan leader spoke fondly of old ties with Russia, asking how he could spurn
Moscow when he has good relations with countries that participated in
slavery.
Museveni, an opinion leader on
the continent who has held power for three decades, is an obvious choice for
Russia as someone to strengthen ties with, said Ugandan political analyst
Asuman Bisiika.
“Uganda is the center of
gravity in East Africa,” Bisiika said.
Museveni, 77, has been
strictly wearing a mask in public since the COVID-19 outbreak. But he did not
have one on when greeting Lavrov in front of photographers, apparently wanting
to show warmth to the Russian. Museveni had a mask back on in his next public
appearance a day later.
Russia is also courting
African public opinion through its state television network, RT, formerly known
as Russia Today. RT has announced that it will open a new bureau in
Johannesburg.
RT was abruptly removed from
Africa's biggest pay-TV platform in Africa, Johannesburg-based Multichoice, in
March after the European Union and Britain imposed sanctions against Russia. It
is not clear whether establishing the new bureau will enable RT to resume
broadcasts to Africa through Multichoice, which claims nearly 22 million
subscribers on the continent.
“For Russia, it is the battle
to be heard in Africa. It is not important for the actual war effort but for
their long-term political influence," Anton Harber, professor of
journalism at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa. “They see it
as fertile ground to cultivate their influence, and, of course, votes in the
U.N. are important."
ALSO READ: "No reason to criticize Russia over invasion of Ukraine" - President of Uganda
On his tour of Africa,
France's Macron accused the Kremlin of using TV channels like RT to spread
propaganda in support of the war. And he charged the Kremlin with blackmailing
the world by thwarting the export of grain from Ukraine.
"They are blackmailing
because they are the ones who blocked cereals in Ukraine. They are the ones who
regulate their cereals,” he said in Benin. His itinerary also included Cameroon
and Guinea-Bissau.
Macron appealed to Africans to
side against Russia.
“I’m telling you here in
Africa, a continent that has suffered from colonial imperialism: Russia is one
of the last colonial, imperial powers. She decides to invade a neighboring country
to defend her interests,” he said. “That’s the reality.”
Power, the top U.S. AID
official, was in East Africa to pledge aid to help the region's fight against
hunger amid a devastating multi-year drought. She did not hold back in
criticizing Russia.
“By blockading Ukraine’s grain
exports and restricting the trade of Russia’s own fertilizer, Putin’s actions
have had the consequence of inflicting pain on the people of Kenya and on other
countries throughout the world," Power said in Nairobi. “He is hurting the
people of Kenya in order to benefit his own situation.” - AP
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